


Sing me home

by BarPurple



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Inspired By Tumblr, Mentions of past abuse, Pre-Relationship, Selkies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-04-08 15:24:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14108307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: He knew her order, iced tea and an ice cream sundae, but one touch of her coat and he remembered something else.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this [post](http://barpurplewrites.tumblr.com/post/172276700460/little-inkstone-howtobangyourmonster)

Gold hissed around the cigarette between his lips as he rolled up his trouser leg. A plume of smoke left his mouth with the sigh of relief when he hit the sweet spot of itch that was plaguing him with his pen. The ankle brace was an ugly necessity if he wanted to work, and since he liked a roof over his head, he had to work. Rushing around in the diner made him sweat and sweat caused itching. A good scrat at breaktimes was as blissful as a coffee and a smoke. He tugged at his cheap polyester socks, he really needed to splash out on some more cotton ones.

With long practise of getting the most from his ciggies he took the final drag right up to the butt without burning his lips or fingers. Tips had been good, but he would eek out the half dozen he had left in his pack before he bought a new one. Had to be ready for that rainy day. Gold snorted as he stood up, his life had read like a Glasgow weather report for as long as he could remember. It was hard to save for a rainy day when you were living in permeant drizzle.

The customer friendly smile slid back on to his face as he walked back into the diner. The tables in his section were already filling up for the lunch rush, he might be able to afford a pint or two after work.

“Welcome to Granny’s, what can I get you today?”

A drink after work had become a necessity. Every grumpy, argumentative bastard had decided to eat at the diner this afternoon. By three o’clock Gold was tempted to add a spit special sauce to the order of the next stroppy git who insisted they had ordered cheese, or no pickles, or specifically asked for diet soda thank you very much. Preparing the iced tea and ice cream sundae for the wee brunette who had come in clinging to a fur coat twice the size of her offered him a zen moment of calm.

“Here we are, one iced tea and a double chocolate sundae with nuts and whipped cream.”

Her eyes went wide, and Gold braced himself for the inevitable ‘What I ordered was’ rant. Instead she sighed happily; “Thank you. This looks amazing.”

Her delight brought an honest smile to his face; “You enjoy lassie.”

As he turned to bus the next table his foot caught on something heavy. He stumbled a step and her fur coat slithered to the floor.

She looked horrified. He stooped down to pick it up and his fingers sank into thick soft fur. Fuck, he could kiss this month’s tips goodbye if this needed dry cleaning. He brushed the crumbs and dust from it as he babbled; “I’m so sorry miss. I canne see nay stains nor dirt, but please check.”

He held it out to her and panicked more when she hesitated to take it. Fuck how much was this thing worth? She reached out for it and gripped a handful. Gold shivered and tasted the tang of the sea. Shite, had he spilt salt on it as well? She gently took it from his hand; “Thank you for returning that which is part of me.”

Gold blinked at her, some old forgotten memory broke the surface of his mind only to disappear into the murky depths again.

“Gold! Order up!”

The cook’s shout brought him back to himself; “Excuse me miss.”

“It’s missus now.”

He tried to say, ‘My apologies missus’ but it came out; “Apologies my missus.”

He cursed his clumsy tongue and hurried away, missing the shy smile that curved the lady’s lips.


	2. Chapter 2

There needed to be a word that expressed the combination of a sigh of relief and a wince of pain. If there was one in the English language Gold didn’t know it, but it would have perfectly described the noise he made as he took his ankle brace off. He stared at the necessary evil, too tired to glare at it with the true loathing he felt for it. Necessary evil, there was a word for that; was that synonym or an oxymoron? He flopped back onto his sagging couch and decided the important question of the moment was why the fuck he was asking himself these questions?

He stared up at the nicotine stained ceiling and decided he was blaming Ruby for his brain trying to recall his long forgotten English lessons. She’d stood him a few pints after his shift, partly to bribe him to take her Sunday morning shift again, and partly to twist his arm it to going on the blind date she’d been trying to set him upon for the past month.

He had no interest in dating. What the fuck did he have to offer a love interest? Crippled, broke as fuck, and old. Yeah, that would look stellar on a dating profile. Ruby kept insisting that her friend’s friend thought he was cute looking and he should give it a go. What had he got to lose? His last shred of dignity? That tiny glimmer of hope that he still clung to that there was some one out there in the world for him? The precious free time of a rare evening off?

He forced himself to sit upright and swore. At the rate he was going he’d end up a hermit in the woods, or the cranky bastard neighbour that everyone crossed the street to avoid. He pulled his phone out from his pocket and typed a text to Ruby.

“Fine. Set me up. You know my shifts.”

He tossed the phone on to the couch and felt something else shift in his pocket. He pulled out a piece of blue sea glass and smiled. The lassie with the fur coat had tucked the money for her cheque under this. He used to pick up pretty stones and sea glass all the time when he was a kid. When was the last time he’d done that? The only time he walked along the beach these days was when he was looking for extra work at the docks.

Storybrooke was a seaside town, but he’d never thought of it as that. A real seaside town was the little village his aunts had lived in back in Scotland, full of happy days and the warmth and love of a proper home. Storybrooke was just the place he’d ended up in after his Pa had dragged him away from his homeland.

He held the sea glass up to the light and smiled at the way it changed colour from blue to green. That lassie had left him a five-dollar tip, but this wee chunk of sea glass had made him cheered him up like nothing else. He carefully set in on the window sill by his bed. If he could scrounge a bit of Blu Tack from the diner tomorrow he’d be able to set it in place, so it would catch the morning light.

Gold’s dreams were full of waves and sea, salt and pretty pebbles, and constant through out all was a warm smile and a soft pair of blue eyes. At some point in the wee hours of the morning as the tide changed he rose from his bed and took the one thing he had left of his aunts from the cupboard. The fur was heavy with the scent of mothballs, but in his half slumbering state Gold only smelt the tang of the sea as he wrapped it around himself and drifted back into a deep restful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The only seat Belle could get in the diner was a was close to the back wall, where she was tucked out of sight. It wasn’t ideal, but it would mean she could surprise her husband. He wasn’t working tonight, but the waitress with the red hair had said that he would be in later.

“It’s a big night for Gold, he’ll be here.”

Belle had smiled at that, but the waitress had already moved away to talk to the dark-haired woman who was twirling a flower between her fingers. Maybe Gold had told people about them already. He wouldn’t have been able to tell the land dwellers the truth, but a version of it would do. They would have to have some reason for their absence when they returned to the sea.

The door opened, and Belle’s heart leapt as Gold walked inside. He was dressed in nicer clothes than his usual workwear, she smoothed her skirt hoping that he approved of her attire as much as she did of his.

His eyes scanned the room but flittered past her without any sign of recognition. She saw the exact moment he spotted the dark-haired woman with the flower, his smile stayed in place, but the light in his eyes dimmed. He walked towards her table and stopped.

“Mary Margaret. I believe I’m your date for this evening.”

Belle shrank back against the wall. Why was her husband on a date with another woman? A land dweller at that? Was this his way of rejecting her? No, this was too cruel, to both of them. Maybe this date had been arranged before he gave her back her fur, perhaps he was just being a gentleman and letting this Mary Margaret down gently.

She leaned to her left, so she could see him clearly. He was smiling softly and had covered the woman’s hand with his own. Belle’s heart sank, she was a fool, this was a real date. Her husband didn’t want her. She dropped some bills on the table in exchange for the drink she hadn’t tasted and slipped out of the back door.

Belle shivered in the cool night air and pulled her fur tight around herself. This didn’t feel right. Gold was of the sea like her, but if that was true why was he going on dates with other women? He’d taken her fur and returned it to her, they were wed by the lore of their kind.

What if she was wrong and Gold wasn’t a selkie? If that was true then she had been very, very lucky. A human in possession of her fur would have been a disaster, he could have kept her trapped on land forever. The thought of danger avoided heightened her senses and made her cautious as she approached the cave where she kept her human things.

There was someone inside. Belle froze and snuffed the air but relaxed as she recognized the scent of friends. At least she’d have some company to soothe her broken heart.

Agatha and Ethel looked up as she climbed over the rocks at the mouth of the cave.

“What happen?”

“You don’t look happy.”

Belle kicked off the spiky shoes; “He’s on a date with a land dweller. He didn’t even look at me. How did I get this so wrong? I was certain he was one of us.”

Agatha and Ethel exchanged a look, they did this often, communicating without words. Belle was as used to that as she was their odd way of speaking in tandem, she settled herself down by the fire until they were ready to share.

“You are right.”

“He is one of us.”

“We knew his mother.”

“He just doesn’t remember who he is.”

“Or who we are to him and we raised him for a time.”

“We’d hoped that meeting you would remind him.”

“But that didn’t work.”

Belle poked at the fire sending a shower of blue tinted sparks into the air. It was a surprise that they were kin to Gold, but she wasn’t offended that they hadn’t told her before. Agatha and Ethel spent much of their time in the sea, little human things tended to slip their minds these days. She was hurt by Gold’s behaviour, but her curiosity was stronger and she wanted to know why he was acting in this strange way.

“How can he not remember this close to the sea?” – she chewed on her bottom lip, - “Does someone have his fur?”

“No, he has his fur.”

“But not all of it.”

Bile rose in Belle throat; “Someone cut his fur? That’s vile! Who would do that to him?”

Ethel reached for Agatha’s hand and squeezed tight. The two women looked pale and drawn in the fire light.

“His father did that to him.”


	4. Chapter 4

Gold had walked Mary Margaret home after their sham of a date. He’d headed back to the diner and was lurking by the back door smoking a ciggie waiting for Ruby to go on her break. He wasn’t as pissed off with her as he had been, but this blind date fiasco was hair-brained even for her.

“Evening Ruby.”

“Jeez Gold! Lurk much! I almost dropped my phone! Why aren’t you with MM?”

Gold tossed his ciggie butt onto the ground, “I walked her home, because I’m not a jerk, unlike her best friend who convinced her that going on a date with me would be a good way to make David Nolan jealous.”

Ruby tried to look innocent; “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Gold rolled his eyes; “It’s my leg that’s knackered not my eyes or ears. MM and David have been fooling around for months now.”

“Oh god, does she think I told you?”

“No, she understands that I’m not stupid. What were you thinking Ruby? If David hasn’t got the balls to leave his wife for MM, then why are you encouraging her to stick with a mess of a relationship that’s only going to end up hurting her?”

Ruby look defiant, there was no way she was going to admit that she’d screwed up; “Look I know they love each other and a little bit of jealousy is just the push he needs.”

Gold opened his mouth to argue but deflated. What was the point? Ruby seamed to think that life was a rom-com and he hadn’t got the energy to take her rose-tinted glasses from her. Experience would do that to her soon enough.

“It was a shite plan, Ruby.”

He turned on his heel and walked away.

“Hey, you’re still going cover my shift on Sunday, right?”

He paused and looked back over his shoulder to snarl; “What do you think?”

Ruby swore at him, but he kept walking. When he’d left home this evening he’d been worried about what might happen over dinner, but the idea that he’d spend the meal helping his date decided what to do about her married lover hadn’t occurred to him.

There were worse outcomes for a blind date, he could have been robbed, or beaten up, but right now neither of those sounded as exhausting. He was emotionally drained, and more than a bit pissed off with Ruby again. He’d been narked on MM’s behalf, but now he was angry for himself. It was a kick in the teeth to discover that his workmate didn’t think him worth a real set-up. No, he was only good enough to be a prop in a bloody stupid plan.

It wasn’t news to him that he was an unlovable wee bastard, his Pa had told him that often enough.

“It’s your fault your mother left me. Even your aunties could stand the sight of you after a while.”

That bit had never sat right with Gold. His aunties home had been full of love, but it wasn’t a good idea to argue with Pa, so he never did. At some point when he’d struck out on his own he’d written home. Agatha and Ethel had sent him the fur that used to cover his bed in their house. They’d not included a letter, he told himself that was just because they were big on writing, but that bitter voice that sounded like Pa said it was because they were like everyone else, couldn’t love him because there was nothing to love about him.

At some point being reminded of it had to stop hurting, didn’t it?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning - mentions of past abuse.

Belle spent hours swimming after Agatha and Ethel had told Gold’s story. The trauma inflicted on him by his own father made her need the reassurance of the sea. The comfort of the water buoying her movements, the tang of salt and the motion of the swell, it soothed the rage and sorrow she felt and let her think clearly. Whether he was aware of it or not Gold was her husband and she would do what was needed to heal him.

It was a daunting quest. Gold’s father had been a human, who stole a fur to take a selkie wife. It was an old story, one that pups were told with their mother’s milk. Beware the humans, they will steal the sea from you, land is a place to visit but no home to us.

Traditionally the story had two endings; the selkie would find their fur and return to the sea, or they would forget the waves and die on land. Gold’s mother had been one of the former. In returning to the sea she had left Gold with Agatha and Ethel who were living a tidal life on the coast of Scotland. Gold had fit in perfectly spending half his time on land and half in the sea. Belle had seen the love in the old women’s eyes and known that Gold had been happy.

His father had not been happy. Driven by rage and revenge he had spent years searching the sea for his runaway seal-wife. When he couldn’t find her, he turned his attentions to Gold. He’d broken into Agatha and Ethel’s land home and hacked a piece from Gold’s fur. Gold had been in agony, his ankle manifesting the injury as a broken bone. His father stole him away from the hospital and dragged him to America in a sky whale. Belle couldn’t begin to imagine the terror Gold must have experience to have been trapped in the sky for hours on end, all the while in pain from his mutilation.

His father had taken him to a place call Kansas, which was as far from any ocean as it was possible to get in America. Agatha and Ethel knew about this because the vile man had written to them boasting of his actions. He’d buried the stolen part of Gold’s fur by a roadside. It had been with bitter glee that he’d bragged to Agatha and Ethel that Gold had forgotten the sea and would never be able to return.

Belle rode a wave up on to the beach and rolled to look at the sky. She had a plan, it was madness, but she could see no other way to make her husband whole again. It would be an adventure, a great adventure that would end with love and happiness. She snorted to herself, that sounded noble and heroic, but it didn’t change the fact that her plan was crazy. She was scared, but she would be brave for her husband.

She shed her fur and walked to her cave. She wanted to see Gold again before she set off, but it was late, he would be sleeping. Tomorrow she would eat breakfast at the diner, maybe she would have a chance to talk to him. He might find it strange that a woman he hardly knew was telling him her travel plans, but she hoped on some level he would be reassured that she would be coming back to him as soon as she could.

While she waited for the moon to set and the sun to rise she gathered the items she would need for her journey. Her father had been human too, but he’d been kind and sweet, a million miles away from the man that sired her husband. Father had taken mother’s fur, but never hid it from her. He’d been happy with a seal-wife who spent long weeks at sea and delighted that their daughter was a selkie. As Belle found the papers that would let her travel as a human she thanked her father’s thoughtfulness in preparing her for a human life. The passport and money would allow her to make her journey quickly, if not comfortably. She shivered, humans said that air travel was a fine thing, but she couldn’t imagine how that could be true.


	6. Chapter 6

“I don’t understand, why?”

Gold had walked into the diner for his shift that morning and been met by a stony-faced Granny. To be perfectly honest Granny always looked stern, but today she looked like she’d had a brief run in with Medusa. She’d handed him his marching orders along with his last pay packet.

“I told you the till was down eighty dollars after your last shift. Now, I’m being nice to you and not getting the Sheriff involved, but I will call her if you don’t stop causing a scene.”

He almost laughed at that. Granny hadn’t called him into the back to fire him, she’d chosen to do this in the diner at the start of the morning rush. It would have been kinder if she had called the Sheriff and had him arrested. Instead she’d made sure everyone in town would know, and the gleeful gossips would make sure everyone knew why Granny had fired him. It didn’t matter that it was a lie, that he’d never taken a dime from the till, everyone in town would accept Granny’s accusation as gospel truth. He’d never find work again.

For a minute he considered standing his ground and making Granny call the Sheriff, maybe then this could get sorted out and he could prove his innocence. He glanced around the diner and saw people stared, as his eyes fell on them their ands went to their pockets, even Mary Margaret clutched her handbag tighter. Did they honestly think he was going to steal from them? They really did. His shoulders sagged, calling the Sheriff would only make this worse, he was guilty in the eyes of the town.

He tried to keep his head up as he turned and walked out of the door. He held on to his dignity until he was out of sight of the diner, then he staggered against a wall and sobbed silently. He was out of a job, with no chance of getting another, and since Granny had docked him the missing eighty dollars there was no way he was going to make this month’s rent.

This was rock bottom. He’d survived tough times before, but he couldn’t see a way through this one. He was going to be homeless and unemployed, with bugger all in the way of savings to tide him over. He had no idea what he was going to do.

The rap of heels on the sidewalk warned him someone was coming. He hastily wiped his face with his hand, he might be at rock bottom, but there was no way he was going to let people see him crying in the street. A gentle hand on his shoulder startled him.

“It’s alright, it’s just me.”

He looked up into the blue eyes of the wee lassie who’d given him the sea glass. Her brow was creased, and Gold braced himself for her censure, she’d been in the diner and seen his humiliation.

“I can not believe the appalling way that woman treated you. Horrible old trout!”

Gold blinked in surprise and found himself smiling at the insult to Granny. He shrugged; “She’s the boss, can do as she pleases.”

The wee lassie huffed; “Nothing gives her the right to treat you so badly.”

She was taking his side, he had no idea why she would, but it felt good, really good.

“Thank you, miss, erm missus.” 

She gave him a shy smile; “My name’s Belle, and you are welcome Gold.”

They stood in a comfortable quiet for a moment. Gold was about to ask her about the bulky rucksack she had with her when a group of cannery workers who had been having breakfast in the diner strolled by.

“Heh, look at that Gold’s whoring himself already!”

“Don’t buy it from him, love! I’ll give you a right seeing to for free!”

Gold ground his teeth together as a blush started to rise on his face. Belle was going to run a mile now. The first chance he had to make a friend in longer than he could remember, and those leering-crotch-grabbing morons had ruined it. 

Belle kept her light grip on his arm and didn’t even spare the heckling men a glance as they moved by. Once they had rounded the corner she snorted; “Kelp for brains those ones.”

Gold grinned; “Sorry about that.”

She squeezed his arm just above the elbow; “Not your place to apologise for their lack of manners.”

She fiddled with the strap of her rucksack and Gold was about to excuse himself so as not to keep her when she blurted out; “Are you busy this week?”

Her face scrunched up as she cringed at her own words and Gold chuckled; “As it happens my schedule is suddenly totally clear.”

She instantly relaxed and then took a deep breath; “I’ve got to go on a trip, and I hate travelling alone. Would you like to come with me to Kansas?”


End file.
